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Politics

Our Everyday Greek: This Summer we Speak Greek During the Flight to Athens

This summer we speak Greek. Let’s learn to say more than καλημέρα and ευχαριστώ: useful and easy dialogues in Greek for every occasion. We start speaking Greek from the flight to Athens. Here are some common phrases and words we use in everyday conversations.

DIALOGUE

Maria and Petros are two friends traveling from New York to Athens by plane. During the flight they decide to start a conversation with the old lady next to them (κυρία Ελένη) to practice their Greek.

Greek phrase            Pronunciation          Translation

M: Καλημέρα             kaliMEra.       Good morning.

Είστε Ελληνίδα;        EEste eliNEEda?     Are you Greek ?

Ε: Ναι, είμαι Ελληνίδα.        NE, EEme eliNEEda.          Yes, I am Greek.

Εσείς; eSEEs?         You ?

Μ: Εγώ είμαι  eYO EEme   I am

Ελληνοαμερικανίδα. elinoamerikaNEEda            Greek-American

Π: Εγώ είμαι  eYO EEme    I am

Ελληνοαμερικανός. elinoamerikaNOS.    Greek-American.

Ε: Ο μπαμπάς σου O baBAS soo  Is your dad

είναι Έλληνας; EEne Elinas?        Greek?

Μ: Ο μπαμπάς μου είναι O baBAs moo My dad

Έλληνας EEne Elinas         is Greek

και η μαμά μου είναι ke EE maMA moo    and my mom

Ιταλίδα. EEne itaLEEda. is Italian.

Ε: Το όνομά σου; TO Onoma soo? Your name?

Μ: Μαρία. maREEA. Maria.

Αυτός είναι ο Πέτρος. afTOS EEne O PEtros. He is Petros.

Π: Το όνομά σας;      TO ONoma sas?       What is your name?

Ε: Το όνομά μου       TO Onoma moo        My name

είναι Ελένη.   EEne eLEni. is Eleni.

Πάτε στην Αθήνα; Pate STEEN aTHEEna? Are you going to Athens?

Μ: Εγώ πάω στη γιαγιά μου eYO PAo STEE yiayiA moo I am going to my grandmother

στη Θεσσαλονίκη. STEE thesaloNEEki. in Thessaloniki.

Ε: Πρώτη φορά πάτε PROti foRA PAte Is it your first time

στην Ελλάδα; STEEN eLAda? in Greece?

Π: Εγώ πάω πρώτη φορά eYO PAo PROti foRA           I am going for the first time

και η Μαρία πάει KE EE maREEA PAi and Maria goes

κάθε καλοκαίρι. KAthe kaloKEri. every summer.

Μ: Εσείς πού πάτε; eSEES POO PAte? Where do you go?

Ε: Πάω στη Θεσσαλονίκη. PAo STEE thesaloNEEki. I go to Thessaloniki.

Π: A, πάμε μαζί.        A, PAme maZEE. A, we go together.

IMPORTANT VOCABULARY

Greek word    Pronunciation          Meaning

Εγώ    eYO    I

Εσύ     eSEE  you

Εσείς  eSEESyou (polite, plural)

Είμαι   EEme I am

Είσαι   EEse  You are

Είναι   EEne Is

Είμαστε          EEmaste we are

Είστε EEste you are (polite, plural)

O Έλληνας    Ο Elinas Greek (male)

Η Ελληνίδα    ΕΕ eliNEEda            Greek (female)

Ο Ελληνοαμερικάνος           Ο elinoamerikaNOS            Greek-American (male)

Η Ελληνοαμερικανίδα          ΕΕ elinoamerikaNEEda Greek-American (female)

Πάω    PAo    I go

Πας     PAS    You go

Πάει    PAi      He goes

Πάμε   PAme we go

Πάτε    PAte you go (polite, plural)

Πάνε   PAne  they go

Πού     POO   where

Πρώτη            PROti first

Φορά  foRA   time

Κάθε   KAthe every

Καλοκαίρι      kaloKEri         summer

Το όνομα        TO Onoma name

Μου    MOO my

Σου     SOO   your

Του     TOO    his

Σας     SAS your (polite, plural)

Note that a common ending for male adjectives is -ος and for female is -ίδα. O Έλληνας / η Ελληνίδα. Ο Αμερικανός / η Αμερικανίδα. Ο Ιταλός / η Ιταλίδα.

MAIN PHRASES

Try to match the phrases in English with their translation in Greek:

  1. Are you Greek? 1. Πρώτη φορά πας Ελλάδα;
  2. What is your name? 2. Πού πας στην Ελλάδα;
  3. Where do you go in Greece? 3. Είσαι Ελληνίδα;
  4. Is it your first time in Greece? 4. Ποιο είναι το όνομά σου;

What would you answer to these questions in Greek?

PRONUNCIATION KEY

i (idiom), ee (needle), e (energy), o (organism), oo (boot), y (yes), h (helium), th (theory), d (the). The capitalized syllables are accented.

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